Best gaming laptop: top portable battlestations for playing games on the go

Buying the best laptop for games mean awesome graphics anywhere

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Aorus X3 Plus v3

Who says that compact laptops can't be deadly too? At just 13.9 inches, the Aorus X3 Plus V3 manages to cram a powerful GTX 970M with 6GB of GDDR5 memory inside. Games look great on its QHD + (3200 x 1800) widescreen, and with two 256GB SSDs in tow you'll be able to store plenty of them. Aside from power, the X3 Plus V3's biggest strength is its portability. At 4.12 pounds it's one of the lightest gaming laptops in its class. Backed up by a meaty 16GB of RAM, the only sore point is its finicky glass trackpad — but you'll probably be plugging a mouse in, anyway.

MSI GS60 Ghost Pro 3K

Gaming laptops are not known for being subtle, but this model from MSI takes things to another level thanks to a blinged out gold paint job. Aside from the natty coating, this beast packs an i7 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 870M GDDR5 3GB graphics card and bays for dual SSD drives. The real standout though is the fantastic 3K display with great viewing angles thanks to the wide-view LCD.

Gigabyte P35W v2

Suitably slim for a gaming focussed laptop, this beast comes packing the 4th gen Intel Core i7 processor paired with NVIDIA's extremely powerful GeForce GTX 870M 6GB graphics processor. A nifty thermal design, along with the dual fans, keeps the temperature down while the quad-storage bay lets you keep a whole host of games on dual SSD drives and dual HDDs. If you fully kit this machine out, that's nearly 5TB of storage. But, if you don't need all that space the hot swappable drive lets you replace one of those bays with a Blu-Ray or disc drive or leave it out completely to keep the weight down. Display wise you're looking at a Full HD panel with wide viewing angle tech that gives you a 170 degree view and 300 nits of brightness, plus with the Mini DisplayPort you can output at 4K.

MSI GS60 2PE Ghost Pro

At 1.96kg and less than 20mm thin, other 17.3-inch laptops look extremely fat, not to mention unsophisticated, next to the MSI GS60 2PE Ghost Pro. A subtle Magnesium-Lithium alloy gives it a great feel, while the reserved styling makes it usable at work as well as for gaming. Two SSD drives, a GeForce GTX 870M graphics card and fourth-generation Intel Core i7 processor make it a potent performer, especially when it costs less than some of its rivals.

Lenovo Y510P

Coming in at the affordable end of the spectrum is the tried and tested Lenovo Y510P. It has built in JBL speakers, a very stylish metallic design, backlit keys and a weight of 2.7kg so it can be carried about without much hassle. The internal specs are impressive, including an Intel Core i7 processor and SSD storage (albeit a measly amount) in addition to a bog-standard hard drive. An Nividia GT 750M is a bit behind the pack, but still capable.

CyberPower FangBook HX7-200

Yet another gaming laptop that looks a bit like a robot from Transformers. The CyberPower FangBook HX7-200 can be specced very generously if you have the money, ranging up to a top-spec Intel Core i7 processor, 31GB of DDR3 memory and SSD storage. An Nvidia GTX 870M is standard so be safe in the knowledge it will run games with aplomb. Backlit and programmable keys rounds things off nicely.

ASUS ROG G750JZ

Try and ignore the slightly ugly angular nature of the Asus ROG G750JX. Any style shortcomings are overcome with performance. A 17-inch HD, 3D-capable display gives plenty of viewing area, while the Blu-ray drive gives you the option of some movie downtime. Once again, a mixture of an Intel Core i7 processor and GTX 770M graphics card makes games run at high frame-rates. Its 4.8kg weight is going to prove tedious to carry, mind you.

Alienware 17

Overpriced? Perhaps. But let's not mince words, the Alienware 17 backs up its eccentric looks with oomph. It has the option of a GTX 880M graphics card, which is perfect for any game, the ability to illuminate groups of keys in different colours, at least 8GB of DDR3 RAM and an Intel Core i7 processor. Cheaper internal components are available if the £2,398.99 asking price is a bit steep.

Alienware 18

Like the Alienware 17, only it has a larger 18.4-inch display for giving the user more visual impact. The Alienware 18 also has 32GB of RAM and a Nvidia GeForce GTX 780M SLI graphics card compared with its slightly smaller sibling, making it a tad more capable. The trade-off? It weighs an extra 3lbs so you will need a bit of extra muscle to move it.

Gigabyte Auros X7 Pro

Gigabyte has launched an insanely thin gaming rig called Auros X7 Pro which it claims is 'thinnest' and 'lightest' around. Housing a 17-inch screen, boasting Nvidia Geforce GTX 970 SLI (6GB GDDR5 vRAM) graphics along with a 5th gen Intel i7 processor, this is a machine that shouldn't have much problem running even the most demanding of games. This is definitely worth looking at for high intensity gamers after a lightweight machine.

ASUS ROG G750JX

A little chunky in terms of design, this gaming specific laptop boasts a powerful Intel Core i7 processor, dual fans to keep the heat low and SoundBooster tech to get the most from the in-built speakers. The 17.3-inch full HD display is capable of pumping out 3D images, there's an HD camera up top and even a Thunderbolt port for super fast data transfer. RAM and HDD space can all be user customised, with Asus offering options up to 32GB and 1TB with 256GB SSD respectively – definitely enough for the majority of gaming fans,

Razer Blade Pro

Typical Razer gimmicky name aside, this gaming laptop is a true behemoth, packing specs and features that will ensure your games run just how the developer intended. The Blade Pro is equipped with a 17.3-inch full HD LED screen that produces crisp visuals and smooth textures and in a rare occurrence for a dedicated gaming machine, has a svelte and sexy chassis, measuring just 0.88 inches. Tucked inside is where the real specs shine, with the latest Intel 4th gen Intel Core processor, next generation NVIDIA GeForce GTX graphics and variety of storage options, all present. If you're still craving more, Razer has taken its Switchblade concept and fitted it to the keyboard, giving you macro controls, mini-apps and more in an LCD touchpad.